Denver Pigeon needs home.

[bigbird]

-----Original Message-----
From: Natybmpo@aol.com [mailto:Natybmpo@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, October 18, 2002 10:04 AM
To: carl@pigeons.com
Subject: pigeon making me ill

Dear Carl,

My name is Mary Patterson and I live in Denver, Colorado. Not quite 3 years ago I found a feral pigeon at work with a horribly broken wing whose lower part had fused straight up in the air. He would appear sporadically with no sightings for several days. One day I was able to stay and watch him, after eating he went into a shed. I went into the shed and found him hiding behind a rubber tub, the look of terror on his face that I had found his hiding spot made my heart go out to him. It would just be a matter of time before the resident hawk got him and living in a dark shed except to eat was no existence, so I took him home.

My vet amputated the lower wing (beautiful job) and I had blood and fecal tests run on him which were all negative. I put him in a cage where he could look out the window at the bird feeder. As time went on I would let him out a few hours each day to explore our house. As time has passed he has settled down but will not let me get too close. He likes it when I spray him with the water bottle when he's in his water dish and that's as close as I can get. If there is no water in the dish he will peck at it to let me know. His other favorite pastime is to sit on the back of the couch (with a blanket over it) and watch the goings on at the bird feeder. He is a great watch bird and "woofs" at any cat or hawk in the area, which is my cue to go and chase the offender out of the yard.

Sadly I have developed asthma since getting him and it appears that the powder from his feathers have made me seriously ill. I've been looking to find a good home for him but everyone acts like I'm trying to give a cockroach a home and can't understand why I would care! I came upon your wonderful website and was hoping you could point me in the right direction. I would be willing to pay for any shipping or transport charges and will include his cage for free (cage is actually a puppy kennel). I had thought about getting a coop for the backyard but there are at least 10 cats that roam the area and I think that would be sheer torture for him, not to mention fox and raccoon in the area. Again any help would be appreciated as I'm getting desperate.

Sincerely,
Mary Patterson

Reply:

Mary, thanks for your note, sorry to hear of your health problems. Hope you get well.
I am cross posting your message to the pigeon forum located at www.pigeons.com so that others might know of your situation and hopefully
respond to your need.
Good Luck,
Carl

[Afra]

Hey, I just saw an e-mail from Whitefeather directing me to this thread. (Thanks, friend!) I am moving to the surrounding area of Denver next month and I would be willing to take care of this bird if I and my friend can get something settled. I am going to forward this topic to my friend via e-mail. He did mention to me that he would like a bird of his own some day, but is not quite sure. I would like to get Francis a mate so he won't be lonely, but I'll have to put the other bird in a separate cage so they don't fight! LOL Thanks for posting this message, Carl!

[maryco]

I hope this will turn out for you and the bird, Afra!

Mary

[Afra]

I've never had a bird with an amputated wing, so it would be nice to have experience with one. I am willing to open my heart and living quarters to another pigeon in need of a good home.

[Afra]

By the way, now that I think of it, I am going to e-mail this person directly and see what I can do. Thanks again!

[Lisa]

Hi Mary,
I live in Delaware and currently have 123 pigeons. The majority are happy, healthy and able to live in a loft. A couple have "special needs" though, and since other pigeons may pick on them, they have their own living quarters. Three are feral pigeons that I rescued from certain death; one was a young bird on a busy main road with an injured leg and missing tail probably the victim of a hawk attack, the other 2 were lost starving babies. I also have a Homer that was attacked by a cat with an injured wing, and a Homer mix that had severe splay leg, and can walk now but looks as though she is doing the limbo. They get along together just fine, and if you can't find a home closer for yours, I'd be happy to give it a good home where it would be safe and have a few friends for company. I understand what you are going through, as I also have over 100 companion birds (mostly Cockatiels) in my home and I have asthma. I have invested in some great air filtration! The Pigeons were in the house, but they do put out a good amount of dust (similar to the large Cockatoos). I now have a loft for the healthy pigeons and for the babies and ones with "special needs" I have a separate loft with heat. If I can help just email me and let me know. Good luck. Birdlover77@aol.com

Lisa, your help for birds is so wonderful that i and i bet others here would love to see pictures.

[Feefo]

Bumping up for Julie.